WA ACLU sues Seattle City Attorney for ‘misuse of prosecutorial power’

SEATTLE - The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington has sued the Seattle City Attorney's Office over claims of "misuse of prosecutorial power" after they barred city judge Pooja Vaddadi from hearing criminal cases.

According to the lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court on Monday, City Attorney Ann Davison directed all assistant city attorneys in February 2024 to file an affidavit of prejudice against Vaddadi on all criminal cases. When FOX 13 Seattle interviewed Vaddadi in March, this amounted to hundreds of affidavits — numbering at least 150 at the time, with more expected.

Davison accused Vaddadi of a "regular pattern of biased rulings," routinely overruling prior findings of probable cause by fellow judges, and failing to find it in situations where the office believes it clearly exists. Vaddadi is also accused by city prosecutors of raising arguments on behalf of defendants without prompting or argument from their own attorneys.

City attorneys also claimed that she made improper rulings related to domestic violence by failing to issue written no-contact orders, even in situations with a demonstrated history of domestic violence. She was also accused of releasing a person twice in one week for DUI. The City Attorney's Office also said that person, "was in recent years convicted of DUI as well."

"That would be incredibly unethical and contrary to my duties as a judge, so I do not do that," Vaddadi told FOX 13 Seattle in March.

The ACLU says the City Attorney's Office "overwhelmingly" exceeded the city's previous use of judicial disqualifications, relegating Vaddadi to hearing only traffic and parking citations. The union says it is a "function typically performed by magistrate judicial officers, not elected judges."

"Through its mandatory policy, the city attorney has effectively removed Judge Vaddadi from the position she was elected to by the voting public," wrote the ACLU, "The city attorney’s actions go beyond a mere impediment to functionality — the city attorney has effectively removed a sitting judge from the bench."

The suit was brought on behalf of the Washington Community Alliance and three Seattle voters.William Bailey, a teaching professor at the University of Washington School of Law, explained to FOX 13 Seattle that affidavits of prejudice were intended to be used sparingly to address severe cases of bias.

"It is a nuclear weapon", said Bailey. "It’s a strategic maneuver to try and get something through the backdoor that couldn’t get through the front door."

Bailey noted that, in his four-decade career, he had only filed three or four such affidavits. He also argued that any concerns about Judge Vaddadi’s rulings should have been taken to a higher court instead of effectively blocking her from criminal cases.

"If you have a judge that’s making rulings that you don’t like, you appeal what they’re doing to a higher court," said Bailey.

"The Seattle City Attorney’s use of a blanket policy against Judge Vaddadi is an abuse of prosecutorial discretion, expanding what is intended to be a case-specific tool into a mandatory policy, effectively usurping the will of the voters," said La Rond Baker, legal director for ACLU-WA. "The people of Seattle elected Judge Vaddadi, and another elected official is undermining the democratic will of Seattle voters by preventing Judge Vaddadi from doing her job."

The Seattle City Attorney's Office provided the following statement to FOX 13 Seattle regarding the lawsuit:

"The Seattle City Attorney’s Office is reviewing the complaint and will respond to it in accordance with the schedule established by the court."

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